Freeman will remain Vikings starter at quarterback

Josh Freeman struggled in the Vikings’ 23-7 loss to the Giants on Monday night. He was 20-for-53 for 190 yards and an interception, and the Vikings scored no offensive points.

But Freeman will be the starting quarterback Sunday night when the Vikings play host to the Packers at the Metrodome, coach Leslie Frazier said this afternoon.

“Josh had a good week of practice for us,” Frazier said. “We felt like we had a good plan going into the game that he would be able to execute. He didn’t play as well as he would’ve liked. I’m sure he’ll tell you that. The ball kind of sailed on him a few different times. But I don’t think it was a lack of preparation.

“If I had to do it over again, I don’t think I’d do it any differently under the circumstances. I knew exactly why we made the decision. Felt very confident going into the ballgame with the decision. Didn’t work out for us this time.”

Frazier also said he didn’t consider pulling Freeman for Christian Ponder. He said Freeman’s missed throws – he overthrew receivers 16 times – were the result of faulty mechanics: “He did a great job of running our offense throughout the night, just some things from a technical standpoint that we’ll have to work on to get him better.”

The Vikings had only 30 rushing yards. Adrian Peterson had only 13 carries for 28 yards, sixth lowest of his career.

“We were trying to run it,” Frazier said. “We probably could have been more balanced than we were. A lot of those passes came in the two minutes at the end of the half, the two minutes in the end of the ball game. The last five or six minutes were really in essence two minutes for us. We were no huddle and we threw the ball a lot during that situation, during that time. We didn't go into it thinking we were going to be throwing it 53 times. We never go into a ballgame thinking we're going to have to throw it 53 times. It turned out that way, but we do want to be an offense that relies on Adrian Peterson.”

The players had yet to report to Winter Park, so Frazier had a limited injury update. Peterson (hamstring) and left tackle Matt Kalil (back) were able to play the entire game. Frazier said Peterson was not affected by his injury.

Cornerback added

The Viking added cornerback Shaun Prater on Tuesday, a day after he was cut by the Eagles. Jacob Lacey, who was added last week but did not play on Monday night, was released. Prater, who played one game for the Eagles, was waived by Cincinnati before the regular season started.

Prater (5-10, 190) was a fifth round choice by the Bengals out of Iowa in 2012. He spent last season on injured reserve because of a knee injury.